Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126027
he Privateer Kenny Roberts National Number Two , Roberts, on th e rebo un d from a seas o n of equipment experimentat ion t h at went sour, is " Mr. Factory " for 1976. In direct co n trast to Scott, Roberts is the o nly rider on the National circuit who can be said to h ave a true fac tory ri de in all aspect s: sh ort track , 750 dirt track and road race. Ro berts the man has proven beyond doubt th at he is master of all forms, grand-slamming the circuit even as he was to lose t he title it self. Roberts th e full-time Ya maha em pl o yee ca n look forward to an intensive year o f wor k dedicated to regaining that title . Although Ken 's expected to o nc e again ca ptain the defending Champi on American team in th e Anglo -American m at ch races this spring, th at may have t o be the su m total of h is Euro pean cam paigning in ' 76. Euro pe is on a slow sim mer in spite of Rob erts ' oft-declared de sire to campaign for one or more o f the FIM world ro ad racin g ch ampionships. Knowing Kenny's brilliance on p avement, this is a bit of a di sap p o in tm en t , b ut it will have to wait until Ken can reassert his dominance of the American Grand Na ti on al circuit. That in itself is a challenge unique in all th e world of motorcycle ra cing, enough to give the Euro peans something to think ab o ut as they aw ait his coming another year. Kawasak i Kawasa ki has officially withdrawn fr o m the circuit. Mike Kidd (wtio lists his sponsor as KM C) will race a Kaw 35 0 at the As tro sho rt track and has a KX450 ex-motocrosser fo r th e IT. Kawasakis will be campaigned on pavement by Kidd, Ron Pierce (o ut of Boston Cycles), and Nixon/Kanemoto. NVT - no official involvement. Suzuki - no official in volvemen t. Ya maha Yam ah a w ill be backing one rider o n the cir cuit, Kenny Roberts, wit h undivided support from Kel Carruthers and Tim Witham on the mechanical end. KeI, who has been gradually branching o ut from h is ro ad racing specialty, will have re sponsibility for t he w h o le program this year. They 'll have an imp ressive array of machin es to wo rk with, in spite o f th e mult i ban in dirt track. For short track, the 360 reed-valve with a cla imed wet weight of 234 pounds; fo r ro ad race Nationals-the monoshock T Z75 0 ; and fo r dirt track the GXS7 50 twin . They 're ex p ec te d to co ncen trate on unlo cking the 750 's latent horsepower with a new cy lin der head (they just go t the fir st bat ch of castin gs from J apan for AM A appro val). In addi ti on , Ro be rts will race a monoshock ver sion of the T Z250 in Lightweight road races. Non- Fact ory team s Look for Team Vista Sheen to co nc en trat e on Ted Boody on a Bul sh o rt tracker and a Harley as their on ly Expert rider on the circ ui t . Dan Gurney Racing will co n tin u e to back Chuck Palmgren o n a Yamaha short tr acker and possibly a Har ley . Sh ell Racing wil l have Hank Scott fu ll time o n Yamahas, Gary Sco tt at least part of the time, plus rookie Expert Rich Kraft o f Phoenix. In the newest deal of all , Evel Knievel has officially entered Gene Romero at Ho ust o n wi th a "Mystery Special " Bul ta co for t he sh ort trac k and a Harley for th e IT. Privateers Dave Aldan a will be self-sponsored at Ho u ston on a Yamaha sho rt tracker and a Harle y 'IT bike. J oh n Gennai is set up to ride . a Bultac o short tracker for Bultaco International and will enter Mar ty T ripes ' ex-mo t o crosser in the Hous ton IT. J o hn's still working ~n getting a Triumph together for othe r eve nts. Previo us Astro winner Dave Hanse n wi ll ride a Ho nda sho rt tracker and a T rium ph for Champion Frames an d Cycl e Im ports. Randy Cleek is expected to co ntinue camp aigning on Ya ma has for Bel-Ray. Rick Hocking has a Champion-framed Yamaha for short track, has sold his o ther Yamahas to T ed Davidson (w ho will be a dirt track Junior and a' 250 Expert ro ad race r in ' 76 ) and has bought Dave Han sen 's Harley . Skip Aksland, o nce singled o ut as a Ken Roberts prote ge, will b e self- spo nso red o n Yamahas , carrying National Num ber 27 . AI Jorgensen, riding out of Jorgy's Motorcycles in St oc kton, has a new National number, 44, an d wi ll field a Bul Astro and a BSA a t Ho usto n . J ohn Hateley is en te re d o n Triump hs in both short trac k an d IT a t t he 'Do me. Rookies of t he West Topp ing the list of rookie Experts is St eve Eklun d, last year's p oints-leading J unior. Riding for K & L Supply he presently has a p air of Yamahas - a short tracker and his o ld J unio r 750 - and has ordered a Harley. Man y-times rival Dan McWh orter of Riverside , CA. is sel f-sponso red o n Yamahas. No rt hern California roo kie s Gary Tonda, Nick Nazzisi and Stev e Foster, will go to th e Houston IT wi th self-sponsored Triumphs. From Central co m es Bakersfield's Frank Ad am o, Cali fornia self-sponso red o n a Ya maha. Sal Pel u so ~f Sa n Die go will ride a Do n Vesco Hu sk y at th e Astro sh ort tr ac k and a Vesco Yamah a in the IT. Texan Terry Po o vey will be sponso re d by bro ther Ted o n a T riumph and a Bul Astro., 7